Does Resident Involvement Impact Post-Operative Complications Following Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty? An Analysis of 24,529 Cases

摘要

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is one of the most commonly performed procedures in the United States [1], whose demand has been projected to increase by 673% by the year 2030 [2], As the supply of fellowship trained arthroplasty surgeons is not meeting the rapidly increasing demand for TKA [3], it is likely that surgeons who have not undergone arthroplasty fellowship training are performing more TKAs. These surgeons will have to rely on their surgical experiences during residency to perform a technically sound operation rather than skills obtained during fellowship training.Surgical educators are tasked with guiding resident physicians through their training, while minimizing mortality and morbidity and maximizing outcomes for their patients. Post-operative complications place a significant financial strain on the healthcare system, and have direct ramifications for surgeons [4]. Furthermore, postoperative complications adversely affect patient outcomes, and consequently patients may have concerns with regards to resident involvement in TKA. Although resident involvement in orthopaedic procedures may be thought to increase the risk of complications, given residents' relative inexperience, investigations on the impact of resident involvement on complications following orthopaedic surgical procedures are limited, particularly following arthroplasty procedures [5-7].